ok...I did it....(indigo and salt water)

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Henna For Hair ~ Discussion Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by RavynG on February 1, 2005 at 15:32:29:

the way my dubious friend in Japan advised...

I took 50gs of indigo and mixed it with hot salt water(I used kosher
sea salt I got at the grocery store--about 2 TBLSP in 2/3 cup
distilled water.)it was a runny pea soupy looking slop. I let it sit
for 15 minutes to release dye and then put it on the roots only(gray
and natural regrowth-about 50/50)covered it with plastic and let it
sit for 90 minutes. At first the salt did sting my hairline slightly,
but it stopped after about 5 minutes and it was only very slight in
front on my forehead.

First thing I noticed was it that it rinsed easy and clean. No blue
stains on the pillow last night either. And this morning as I was
preparing the henna-mix I wet my hair in VERY warm water as she also
advised and there was 0% blue run off! That was amazing since in my
experience even when I use indigo AFTER henna there is ALWAYS blue
run off for days afterwards! The color took deeper than I have ever
had indigo alone take before--a nice deep dull gun-metal blue, almost
a navy blue, covering all the gray 100%!

OK--so the wet hair was new to me too, but I went ahead and tried it
since I knew the henna I got from Catherine was top quality and had
alot of dye in it anyway.

Now the henna mix she advised was this:
100 gs body henna
1/2 teaspoon each eo's: mellaleuca, lavender, rosemary
3/4 cup of hot cider vinegar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
and I added just to try it--1/4 cup allspice
what a lovely texture! a smooth creamy mud! and it pulled away from
the sides of the bowl like a fine quality paint! I let it sit,
covered, for 16 hours on top of the heater vent(it was cold last
night).

this morning I mixed up 50gs of indigo in hot salt water again (it
sat for 15 minutes to release dye) and added it to the henna mixture
and it was very very thick.

So on a whim I went to the fridge and took out a half bottle of flat
beer I was saving to marinate a steak in and popped it in the
microwave(in a measuring cup) with a couple of Celestial Seasonings
Apple-Cinnamon tea bags(just for the fragrance).

NOTE: even flat beer tends to foam up and erupt in microwaves.

I let it steep for a few minutes and calm down and then when it was
not scalding anymore I added it to dilute the henna-indigo mixture.
what a lovely smell--like a holiday punch!

(the beer-tea was just a whim and other than the fact that hair and
beer work well for shine and the tea smelled good it served no
particular purpose in my mixture and hot water would have done the
thinning out just as well.)

This went on wonderfully! I was very surprised. I used a frosting
brush, my hair was damp and warm and brushed forward(bending over).
Another surprise was that I only used 100gs total of henna and 50gs
of indigo and 1/4 cup of allspice and it made a good 3 cups of
mixture and it more than covered my almost waist-length hair! I
normally use twice that amount! I had plenty and used it generously.
It even spread well enough for me to massage it into the hair! Not as
easily as shampoo or anything--but a heck of a lot easier than
concrete!

I plan on rinsing out after about 6-7 hours, it has been on for 3 now
and it is just now starting to feel a little drippy under the towel.

I have to say--however the color turns out--this was one of the more
pleasant mixing and applying experiences I have had! Of course I give
95% of the credit to Catherine for her quality products! But my
friend in Japan swears it is the corn syrup and process of using salt
water and indigo the day before and then applying the henna to wet
hair! She also claims that in the US we use way too much henna. She
says the japanese woman who taught her had thick hair down past her
butt and only used 250gs (which I have done before (easy!) on my hair
of just above the waist and not real thick!)--she claims it is in the
cornsyrup and wet hair. And she also said that the way the older
japanese ladies use it to cover gray is always indigo in salt water
the day before. The indigo-salt water alone was nearly enough for me
without the henna! in a pinch a quick touch up like that will do the
trick. (I misunderstood my friend the first time I thot she did the
indigo before and after the henna, but she only does it before and
then mixes it in the henna.)
so...I will let you know about the color(I am hoping the allspice
will make a nice depth)and then we will see how it oxidizes over the
next few days.
I have forgiven my friend for the teenage rainbow hair incident with
this one.
Ravyn, Lady Heresy

 

Follow Ups

Post Followup

Name:   
E-Mail:   
Subject:   
Optional link URL:   
Link title:   
Optional image URL:   
   
Served by ruboard 2.1.1; Copyright © 1998 by Andrew Maltsev.